This and That (shallow thoughts)

(Cute pic of Buster that has nothing to do with anything.)

The computer is back home tonight and seems to be working despite flying off the passenger seat onto the floor when Sam had to slam on his breaks on the way home. It still makes an obnoxious humming noise but I can live with it--I'm back to blogging!

Each one of these items could be it's own post but for the sake of time, I'm lumping 'em all together. (Gourmet dinner night will get its own post.)

1. Buster got tubes last Friday morning. Everything went well and he is doing fine. The funny thing is, when I took him to the ENT a couple weeks ago, they had me sit in a small booth with him so they could test his hearing. The nurse would say "Mitchell" over and over through different speakers in the room. Buster never turned and looked in the right direction even one time. I didn't realize until I got home that he would probably only answer to "Buster." They assumed he is hard of hearing and scheduled the tubes. Here he is ready for surgery:


2. Santa came early this year and I got a new coat and scarf. Love it:


3. I just volunteered to do a Sub-for-Santa for a Sudanese family that lives downtown. Am I the only one who completely stresses over these types of gifts? I think it is so sad that a 10-year-old girl is asking for a coat and boots for Christmas. The least I can do is find her the cutest coat and boots on the planet. I think I'm going to buy her something fun too. This project is going to be really good for my kids who have lists a mile long.

4. My mom and I took my kids to a breakfast with Santa at Thanksgiving point on Saturday. It was really cute and the kids had a great time:


Check out this elf:


Doesn't he look exactly like Will Ferrell? Ryan was so happy all the way home:


5. I am currently obsessed with the new Kneaders that opened off Bangerter Hwy. It has delicious food, nice employees and cute decor and stuff to buy. I am loving their turkey, cranberry, sunflower seed salad and peppermint brownie. Delish. If past is prologue, I will probably eat there once a week for a year and then turn my back on the place and never return. That's how I roll with food places.


Sammie enjoying the peppermint brownie after ballet class. My kind of girl.

6. Speaking of Kneaders, I ate there with my high school friends about a week ago. We haven't all been together in at least 8 or 9 years. We were missing Noelle but still had so much fun. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Don't I have cute friends...I'm the big one:


7. My friend Megan who now lives in VA brought me peppermint Jo-Jos and chocolate covered peppermint jo-jos from Trader Joes. Holy crap. Those babies are wicked! I'm in LOOOOOVE.

8. On a more serious note, I was deeply saddened yesterday to hear about Elizabeth Edward's death:


I liked her because she was intelligent and down to earth. I was always impressed with her grace and courage in the face of so much adversity in her life. She lost her 16-year-old son Wade in a car accident years ago, her husband John Edwards (who is a total tool) had an affair and fathered another child all the while she was battling cancer. She knew she would die and leave young children behind--the ultimate heartache for a mother.

Despite all of this, she was optimistic and grateful for what she had. She had these words (from the song Anthem by Leonard Cohen) painted on her wall:

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

Isn't that beautiful?

9. Back to the silly--Here are my kids in their Christmas pjs:


Yes, it drives me crazy that they are not coordinated. I have already bought their pjs for next year and they all match!

10. November and December have been one big binge-fest for me. Well, in all honesty, it started with the Halloween candy and probably won't end until after the girl scout cookies are gone. I feel nasty. Every night I swear I will do better the next day and then wake up and eat Oreos (or jo jos if I've got 'em) for breakfast. I need an intervention.

I can't believe we only have about two and a half weeks until Christmas. This time of year goes way too fast. This post has so much random stuff, I want to hit delete but I'm too lazy to do different posts, so it is what it is. Enjoy.